Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Jordan Minor’s “Boss Fight Books: Super Mario Galaxy” is Now Available for Pre-Order
- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- With Grand Theft Auto 6 poised to take over the world, I reached out to Jack Thompson and it did not go well – PC Gamer (2026)
- Vib-Ribbon: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- Diablo IV PC Cooled With Real Human Blood Is Still Going Strong Two Years Later, Says Guy Who Won It – Aftermath (2026)
Most Recent: PC
THQ cancels Del Toro’s Insane; director retains IP rights
THQ President Jason Rubin just announced that the company has canceled Insane, the first game in a planned trilogy from director Guillermo Del Toro and developer Volition. “We have decided not to pursue further pre-production on Insane, and have returned all of our IP rights to Guillermo Del Toro,” Rubin said.
Insane was first announced during the 2010 Spike TV Video Game Awards, so the game was in development for at least two years before getting the axe. With Del Toro retaining the IP rights to the game, he would legally be able to take the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 title to other publishers if he wanted to. However, it’s likely that Volition’s contirbution to the project would stay with the publisher.
THQ never talked about Insane much after that day, but Del Toro described it as a “Lovecraftian Thing” to the MTV Multiplayer Blog before the announcement.
[Source: Joystiq]
Do you want a new Need For Speed: Most Wanted gameplay trailer?
Did you say no? Well too bad. This new Need for Speed: Most Wanted trailer introduces you to the Corvette ZR1, The Koenigsegg Agera R, and the Hummer H1 Alpha, just a few of the stars of the new game.
Most Wanted is not about “pristine cars sitting untouched in a showroom,” so get that thought out of your head. This game is about getting dirty and smashy, driving fast (pedal to the metal and all that), and taking on your rivals as well as the police. The open world of Fairhaven City features heavily policed freeways, downtown grids, industrial zones, tunnels, storm drains, and high-speed open roads.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted will be out on October 30 for Android, iOS, PC, PS3, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox 360.
Rise of the Triad reboot will be cheap, have free DLC, and may come to consoles
Apogee Software has been tinkering with the idea of a Rise of the Triad reboot for years and we finally got our first look at it during last weekend’s QuakeCon. If you were a teenager in 1995, this is quite possibly the best news ever. Some would even say that it’s ludicrously good news.
More good news emerged from the show floor when Apogee announced that the Rise of the Triad reboot would be priced at $14.99. Developer Interceptor Entertainment is also working on a ton of additional downloadable content for the game (including an expansion based on Rise of the Triad: The Hunt Begins) that they plan to give away for free.
Finally, Apogee and Interceptor haven’t ruled out a console port, so PS3 and Xbox 360 owners may get their hands on ROTT someday.
[Source: Destructoid]
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Rise of the Triad
John Carmack: “Doom 4 will be done when it’s done”
John Carmack, id Software’s founder and chief Technical Director, told the assembled masses at this weekend’s QuakeCon that Doom 4 “will be done when it’s done.”
The existence of Doom 4 was confirmed back in 2008 and this vague progress report is nothing new. At one point, parent company Bethesda Softworks even denied the game was ever officially announced.
Work on the title appears to be well underway now though, with Carmack stating that id’s entire mobile team has been tasked with completing Doom 3: BFG Edition. After that game’s October launch, the entire company’s resources will be devoted to the development of Doom 4. Unfortunately, a side effect of these redoubled efforts towards Doom 4’s development will result in the end of mobile game development at id.
However, Carmack also reassured fans that the company will move back into mobile development “at the appropriate time.”
[Source: Game Informer, Polygon]
The Force is with the Dishonored voice cast
When it comes to compiling top flight vocal talent to portray the characters in their games, Bethesda is second-to-none. The publisher has previously tapped Oscar nominees (Christopher Plummer, Max Von Sydow, Joan Allen), nerd favorites (Patrick Stewart, Lynda Carter, Ron Perlman), and a Jedi Knight (Liam Neeson) to bring their past games to life.
With Dishonored, they may have outdone themselves. Look at the cast they’ve assembled for their supernatural first person shooter:
- Carrie Fisher as an unnamed voice broadcasting government propaganda over loudspeakers throughout the city of Dunwall.
- Susan Sarandon as Granny Rags, an intriguing old blind woman now deranged after years of street life.
- Brad Dourif as Piero, creator of the iconic mask worn by Corvo as well as a wealth of gadgets Corvo can use.
- John Slattery as Admiral Havelock, a Loyalist who helps Corvo on his quest.
- Michael Madsen as Daud, a mysterious assassin.
- Chloe Grace Moretz as Young Lady Emily, the Empress’ daughter who is kidnapped after her mother’s death.
- Lena Headey as Calista, Emily’s caretaker.
So let’s recap. Dishonored’s voice cast includes Princess Leia, Annie from Bull Durham, Chucky from the Child’s Play series, the guy from Mad Men, Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs, Hit Girl from Kick-Ass, and one of the stars of Game of Thrones. Wow.
Dishonored will be available for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 on October 9.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Dishonored
Unreal Engine 3-powered Rise of the Triad reboot in development
The ludicrous gibs are back! Apogee Software used the opening day of QuakeCon 2012 to announce the long-long-awaited return of Rise of the Triad.
Rebuilt from the ground up by Interceptor Entertainment using Epic’s Unreal Engine 3, the new Rise of the Triad will bring back everything that made the cult shooter so memorable. This includes all of the great weaponry (the Flamewall, Split Missile, Drunk Missile and, the Excalibat), the jump plates, the spinning blades of death, the cowering Nazi stand-ins, and all the fantastic modes (God Mode, Dog Mode, Elasto Mode, Mercury Mode, and Shrooms Mode). Players will also have the option to use a reworked soundtrack or the original 90s era music and sound effects.
The Rise of the Triad reboot will be available to download through Steam by the end of the year complete with a 20-level single-player mode and classic multiplayer maps.
Gibs!
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Rise of the Triad
Skyrim “Dawngaurd” expansion now available on PC; PS3 version delayed
Here’s some news that doesn’t “suck” (it’s a vampire joke, folks)… Bethesda has announced that the “Dawnguard” expansion for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is now available for PC players. Like the Xbox 360 version, the PC expansion has been priced at $19.99.
But bad news for gamers who get their Skyrim fix on the PS3… Bethesda has announced that the PS3 version has been delayed because the developer isn’t happy with the expansion’s development progress:
We are not satisfied yet with Dawnguard’s performance on the PS3. We would like for everyone to have a chance to play Dawnguard, but we aren’t going to release it for PS3 knowing that some people’s experience in Skyrim will be worse. We do everything we can to have our content available to all; from our free updates, to user mods, to paid DLC. We’re as disappointed as our fans when that isn’t the case, but we’ll continue to push for that reality.
Posted in News, PC, PS3
Tagged The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Final CoD: Modern Warfare 3 Content Collections dated and detailed
With the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 getting closer and closer, Activision has begun to close out the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3‘s downloadable “Content Season.” To that end, the publisher has revealed the game’s final pieces of DLC as well as the contents of Content Collection #3 and Content Collection #4.
During the month of August, CoD Elite subscribers will gain access to two new Special Ops Missions, “Light ‘Em Up” and “Special Delivery” as well as the brand-new Chaos Mode. Chaos Mode will transform the “Resistance,” “Village,” “Underground,” and “Dome” maps into a “frenetic form of combat that demands players to outlast waves of enemies, while chaining kills on maps littered in power-ups to achieve the highest possible score.”
All of this DLC (along with the Special Ops Missions “Vertigo” and “Arctic Recon” and the Face Off maps “Vortex,” “U-Turn,” and “Intersection”) will be bundled together as Content Collection #3 for Xbox 360 players on August 9.
Content Collection #4 will be available on September 6 for Xbox 360 players and it’ll be packed with five Multiplayer maps including three that Elite subscribers will get first: “Gulch” sends combatants into a forgotten mining town with mine shafts and equipment sheds for cover, “Boardwalk” features fun in the sun on the Jersey Shore, and “Parish” pits players against one another amidst the rubble of New Orleans. Content Collection #4 will also include the previously released maps “Offshore” and “Decommission.”
Both collections will be priced at 1200 Microsoft Points ($15). And all of the content listed here will be available for PC and PS3 players at a later date.
Posted in News, PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tagged Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3